The Belt Bomb
by Xspanda
Summary: When a bomb traps Pantherlily, Charle, and Happy, it's up to Fairy Tail to free them before time runs out.


**The Belt Bomb**

Gray stared down his red striped straw with a grimace. The bitter cold of his smoothie bit at the two hands encased around it, but he didn't mind feeling numb at the moment. It actually almost soothed him. Maybe it was because he was an ice mage and could withstand the cold with his shirt off just fine. But still, he thought his frozen hands were a pleasant diversion from the chaos around him.

It wasn't the kind of chaos that would be normal at the Fairy Tail guild: the laughing, fighting, ruckus that usually ensued every day. Everything was uniquely quiet. As if none of the near one hundred members in the great room were even present.

Though there was one person who paced chaotically up and down the table aisles. His sandaled stomps echoed loudly in the silent room and fire-tipped fingers rapped at his chin in dismay. He stopped in front of a table of which was clearly being avoided by the other members and gave a hard stare at the three cats who occupied the bench seat.

"Natsuuu! I'm scared!" Happy said, wriggling his feet in attempt at escape.

"I know buddy, I'll get you outta there," Natsu replied, calming down and kneeling to place a hand on the manic contraption that held the cats together.

It was a bomb. A slim, black belt wrapped around the three Exceeds and held them tight. It relayed a red numbered symbol.

"5 minutes left…" said Pantherlily, quivering next to Charle, who held her breath.

Natsu clenched his fists. "Grr, where the heck's Gajeel and Wendy? They should be back with a way to disarm the bomb by now!"

"They'll be here any second," Lucy said softly from the table bench opposite the cats and across from Gray. "Until then, you shouldn't move around so much near that belt."

Gray tensed at the words. "That belt… I never should have gotten it. That salesman from the West Mountains lied to me!"

"Don't blame yourself, Gray. You couldn't have known," Charle said.

"Yeah," agreed Happy. "It's my fault for tripping over it. Sorry guys…"

Just then, Gajeel and Wendy burst through the front door and bolted to the tied down cats.

"Finally!" Natsu cried.

Lucy clasped her hands in relief. "Thank goodness! You have the solution?"

"Yup, this just might work!" Wendy said, out of breath.

Gajeel held up a small metal stick that resembled a toothpick with a flag hanging off the end. The pointed end let off a soft white glow in the light. "After I socked that salesman, he gave us this key and said it would deactivate the bomb," he said.

The whole room held its breath and everything was eerily silent as Lucy, Gray, Wendy, Natsu, and Gajeel crowded close around the terrified Exceeds. That was, until a pointed 'tick' sound rang as Gajeel determinedly jabbed the key at every open space on the belt's front box.

Natsu slapped his arm. "What are you doing? Use the key right!"

"Shuddup! I don't know how to use it! I don't see a key hole and I thought this glowy point would do something!"

The group fell into a panic.

"Let me see it," cried Gray. "There has to be a key hole somewhere!"

As the ice mage made a grab for the metal piece, Natsu caught him halfway and reached for it himself. "No, I can find it! It's probably in the back!"

"Give me that back! I can find it myself!" shouted Gajeel.

The boys ended up in a three-way tug-of-war, and due to Gray's previously bitter cold hands, two of them were yelping in pain.

Charle furrowed her brow at their needless fight and said in rage, "Boys, please! We don't have much time!"

"3 minutes!" added Happy, squirming even more.

Before they had time to notice, Wendy squeezed in between the mages and snatched the key out of their mitts, using a gust of wind to blow apart their struggle. "Let's give Lucy a try with this!" she said. "She's a handler type mage, so that might help!"

The key was quickly put into Lucy's palm and then all eyes locked on her. She really wanted to help, but if there really wasn't a key hole, what could she do? Maybe…

…the first thing that came to her mind? Lucy raised the metal piece into the air in her trademark stance and yelled, "Open: gate of the-" She paused, ending with the key poised directly in front of the belt's timer box. "-uh..Bomb Belt?"

As soon as one hundred eyebrows rose, the tip of the key shined brighter, but only for a second. Nothing happened.

"You had something there, Lucy! Even if it was a little silly," Natsu said joyfully, joining Happy in a teasing chuckle.

"Now we know the bomb was made by magic," noted Gray.

"Here, let me see. I'll get the cats out." Gajeel took the key and swung it around to emulate what the Celestial Mage had just done, only he added a few random arm movements. Again the key glowed, but this time the shine from the tip grew to cover the entire metal piece. At the same time, a key hole appeared just below the timer on the box and matched its glow.

To their surprise, Pantherlily and Charle were phased out of the belt's grasp all safe and sound. Although…

"Hey, why wasn't Happy set free?" Natsu asked, shocked.

"Gee hee hee, I never said I'd help you out, Salamander," Gajeel snickered, flipping the key smugly around this fingers.

"Ah! Why you-!"

"Help _him_? You're supposed to be helping _me_!" Happy whimpered, kicking his legs furiously as the bomb timer clicked to 1 minute.

"Quit playing around!" Gray cried. He grabbed the key while the two Dragon Slayers began to throw punches and twirled his arms around madly. It did the trick, because a second later, Happy was unrestricted and spreading this wings in relief.

Pantherlily, too, spread his wings in an instant. He snatched up the sill ticking bomb, soared up into the heavy rafters of the Fairy Tail Guild, and threw it.

KABOOM!

Sparks and smoke wafted through the air as the threat was no more.

Everyone's voices (except two angrily shouting ones) sounded in a huge cheer at once. Almost like a storm had passed, the guild members returned to their daily goings-on in their usual high spirits.

Lucy laughed. "Just another day at the Fairy Tail guild!"

The End


End file.
